Onset is ready to answer your questions about HOBO RX3000 station configurations suitable for use with the NEWA platform. Visit the Onset NEWA partner page to learn more, or contact designated Onset support staff below with your questions regarding equipment and purchases.

Jamie Pearce, Onset’s VP of Marketing and Corporate Development says, “We’re very excited to be integrating our HOBO RX3000 weather station data with NEWA. Not only does it help our agricultural customer base gain actionable insights, but it also delivers the option to leverage our new wireless sensors with the HOBOnet® Field Monitoring System. Now, apple growers to vineyard managers can get a better sense of what’s happening throughout their fields.”

More About Onset

Based on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Onset has been designing and manufacturing its data loggers and monitoring solutions since the company’s founding in 1981. The company’s award-winning HOBO® data logger and weather station products are used around the world in a broad range of monitoring applications, from water and coastal research to indoor and outdoor environmental monitoring. https://www.onsetcomp.com.

Here’s the latest on Spotted Lanternfly from Ryan Parker, Extension Aide at NYSIPM.

Adult Spotted Lanternfly, Photo Tim Weigle, NYSIPM

Concern over the invasive and destructive spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) (SLF) generated many online resources by states researching new and active populations. Thought to have arrived in Berks County, PA, in 2012, this showy planthopper attacks more than seventy species of plants in the United States. New York State’s primary concern is outreach, monitoring, and proactively approving 2ee pesticide labels for control. Because live adults and nymphs (and egg masses) hitchhike from states with known populations, New York State has an external quarantine.

An external quarantine is a restriction of specific items that facilitate ‘hitchhiking’. In other words, if you’re traveling back from a state with an established population consider that your utility trailer, bicycle, tent canopy, or that swing set you bought in a yard sale might have SLF adults, nymphs, and egg masses tagging along. Any item that has been outside for a while needs to be checked before it crosses the border. Here’s the full list, downloadable, printable.

Download, print and share to reduce the spread of Spotted Lanternfly

In an attempt to educate the public and limit the spread of this pest, New York State Integrated Pest Management (NYSIPM) has teamed up with New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS), and New York State Agriculture and Markets (NYSDAM) to create the New York State Spotted Lanternfly Incident Command System (NYS SLF ICS).

Currently, NYSIPM’s primary SLF focus is outreach. We’ve created materials that help identify, monitor, and manage this pest. Along with the public departments listed above, we continue to remind NY residents how to report findings (spottedlanternfly@dec.ny.gov) and we provide educational materials LIKE OUR NEW WEBPAGE. Besides our many resources (Powerpoint presentations, Spark videos, posters, photos and much more), and links to other state or government agency information, you’ll find a regularly updated incidence map showing county-by-county news of SLF sightings and populations across the Northeast and mid-Atlantic regions.

Coming soon, two Moodle courses from NYSIPM and our Cornell CALS collaborators. One course provides general knowledge about SLF, while the other focuses on Tree of Heaven (Alianthus altissima), one of SLF’s preferred hosts. Both offer pesticide applicator credits.

While visiting our blog, you have also been checking out older posts. Our second most popular post viewed in 2018 was a 2014 post, Identifying Your Pest – with Poop?. There are a lot of budding scatologists out there.

Other IPM Blogs – Besides ThinkIPM, we have more dedicated blogs, and you don’t need to be a specialist to subscribe to them. Here are some of the more popular posts:

Our new Spotted Lanternfly video, Have YOU Spotted Lanternfly Egg Masses was just posted, but it has already reached the number two spot. This invasive insect is getting a lot of attention and we need your help to keep track of it in New York.

So far, the few New York state sightings of SPOTTED LANTERNFLY, a highly invasive and potentially devastating invasive insect, have been linked to their propensity to hitchhike from the quarantined areas in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and Virginia.

These discoveries have been adults thought to have traveled on vehicles or shipping materials and resulted in a quick and thorough survey of the area to locate and destroy any chance of additional insects.

This time of year, gravid adult females have probably finished laying eggs and covering them. They aren’t that fussy–they will lay eggs on any inflexible object (preferably tree bark) but it could be your vehicle, utility trailer, firewood, and more.

The responsibility to reduce the chance of infestation in New York state also lies with travelers and shippers. While the DEC does do periodic spot checking along major federal roadways, short of placing a guard station at every entry point, this means a lot of potential influx of this pest. Share the information, learn to recognize these pests and, yes, check for hitchhikers in the form of adults, nymphs and egg masses.

Once the egg mass covering has dried down from white to dull gray or grayish brown, it becomes highly camouflaged on certain surfaces like bark where its cracking mimics the surface.

Ask your friends and relatives coming in for the holidays if they are aware of this pest and refer to the many online sources:

We at the NYSIPM program are always informed and entertained by the writings of CCE St. Lawrence’s Paul Hetzler. We couldn’t pass this one up!

Even Santa Claus himself cannot grant a wish for a white Christmas—it is a coin toss whether the holiday will be snow-covered or green this year. A verdant landscape is not our Christmas ideal, but we can keep more greenbacks in the hands of local people, and keep our Christmas trees and other accents fresh and green for longer, when we buy local trees and wreaths.

Not only are Christmas trees a renewable resource, they boost the regional economy. Even if you don’t have the time to cut your own at a tree farm, do yourself a favor this year and purchase a natural tree from a local vendor. She or he can help you choose the best kind for your preference, and also let you know how fresh they are. Some trees at large retail outlets are cut weeks, if not months, before they show up at stores.

There is an additional reason to buy local in 2018: The NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets has announced a quarantine on out-of-state Christmas trees to prevent the spread of a devastating new insect pest. The spotted lanternfly (SLF) is a major pest of many tree species, as well as grapes and various other crops, but it is especially fond of sugar maples. First discovered in Pennsylvania in 2014, this tree-killing Asian bug has since spread into New Jersey, Delaware, and Virginia. SLF females lay their camouflaged eggs on almost anything, and in 2017, egg masses were found on Christmas trees grown in New Jersey, prompting the quarantine.

Of all the memorable aromas of the holiday season, nothing evokes its spirit quite like the smell of a fresh-cut pine, spruce or fir tree, wreath or garland. Although the majority of American households where Christmas is observed have switched to artificial trees, about ten million families still bring home a real tree.

Every type of conifer has its own blend of sweet-smelling terpenols and esters that account for their “piney woods” perfume. Some people prefer the fragrance of a particular tree species, possibly one they had as a child. A natural Christmas tree is, among other things, a giant holiday potpourri. No chemistry lab can make a plastic tree smell like fresh pine, fir or spruce.

Photo by Brian Eshenaur

The origins of the Christmas tree are unclear, but evergreen trees, wreaths, and boughs were used by a number of ancient peoples, including the Egyptians, to symbolize eternal life. In sixteenth-century Germany, Martin Luther apparently helped kindle (so to speak) the custom of the indoor Christmas tree by bringing an evergreen into his house and decorating it with candles. For centuries afterward, Christmas trees were always brought into homes on 24 December, and not removed until after the Christian feast of Epiphany on 6 January.

In terms of crowd favorites, the firs—Douglas, balsam, and Fraser—are very popular, very aromatic evergreens. Grand and concolor fir smell great too. When kept in water, firs all have excellent needle retention. Pines also keep their needles well. While our native white pine is more fragrant than Scots (not Scotch; that’s for Santa) pine, the latter far outsells the former, possibly because the sturdy Scots can bear quite a load of decorations without its branches drooping. Not only do spruces have stout branches, they tend to have a strongly pyramidal shape. Spruces may not be quite as fragrant as firs or pines, but they’re great options for those who like short-needle trees.

The annual pilgrimage to choose a real tree together has been for many families, mine included, a cherished holiday tradition, a time to bond. You know, the customary thermos of hot chocolate; the ritual of the kids losing at least one mitten, and the time-honored squabble—I mean discussion—about which tree to cut. Good smells, and good memories.

For the best fragrance and needle retention, cut a one- to 2-inch “cookie” from the base before placing your tree in the stand, and fill the reservoir every two days. Research indicates products claiming to extend needle life don’t really work, so save your money. LED lights don’t dry out needles as much as the old style did, and are easier on your electric bill too.

The NYSIPM Program thinks about Christmas Trees all year long. Here’s Betsy Lamb at Field Days. Photo by Brian Eshenaur

A 13 year veteran of Putnam County, Lerner’s work as an invasive species educator, native plant and pollinator advocate, and turfgrass researcher has demonstrated her commitment, enthusiasm and mastery of IPM tools and tactics. Promoting IPM through education, demonstrations, and inclusive programs, Lerner has empowered her community with effective, science-based techniques.

As a coordinator and collaborator for the Hudson Valley portion of the multi-year, multi-state project on keeping weeds out of sports fields on a budget, Lerner and her Turfgrass Team volunteers used “repetitive seeding” on high-use sports areas. The result? Safe playing surfaces that filled back in game after game. Why does it matter? Because we’d rather use seed than herbicides—and weeds make for slick footing and, too often, expensive falls.

Lerner also made Putnam County a leader in lily leaf beetle research. Notorious for decimating lilies, this pest is a pain for nurseries and householders alike. Enter an IPM management option: the release of a parasitoid wasp that feeds on the beetle larvae. Lerner secured a plot of land for the project, trained volunteers on the life cycle and proper handling of the wasps, and organized their successful release. Lerner’s most crucial contribution? Her outreach and clear communication skills, says project manager Brian Eshenaur.

A stalwart champion of bees and the native plants they depend on, Lerner so inspired the students from her advanced pollinators classes that they took what they learned and passed it on to over 530 community members at farmer’s markets and county fairs. And she created a special section—“Beauty and the Bees”—at the Master Gardeners’ annual plant sale. This section, now three years old, dwarfs the inventory of non-natives plants offered for sale.

There’s more, of course. Lerner also managed a demonstration pollinator garden located beside the Putnam County Department of Motor Vehicles, which attracts hundreds of patrons day in and out.

Today’s post is from Matt Frye. FYI: (He didn’t just show up on our door talking ticks or rats! And we’re glad he escaped the vines to join our program.)

Kudzu is an invasive vine that was introduced from Japan to the United States in 1876. In its heyday, kudzu was planted extensively throughout the southeastern US, where it was touted for its ability to prevent soil erosion on embankments, restore soil nitrogen (it’s a legume), and provide high quality forage for livestock. Unfortunately, like many invasive organisms introduced outside of their native range, kudzu became a pest species due to its rapid growth rate and the ability to shade out existing vegetation.

Kudzu was planted extensively on slopes for erosion control.

Based on the detrimental effects of this plant and the cost of management, kudzu is listed as a noxious weed in several states. It has also been the subject of extensive research by the US Forest Service, including my graduate research at the University of Delaware, which examined the potential for biological control of kudzu using insect natural enemies.

Kudzu vines grow up trees, over bushes, and create a dense cover of foliage that kills other plants.

In 2014 I published a slide set describing my work and experience with kudzu: why it’s a pest, some of its ecological impacts, common misconceptions, how it was grown, and how it can be killed. Since publishing this document, I have received dozens of requests for more information about the plant. What do most people want to know? How to grow it! This has been for art installations, research on allelopathy, a test to determine if kudzu can grow in zero gravity (yes, kudzu literally will be sent to space), genetic studies and for use as wildlife forage.

The last request for information to grow kudzu in New York was most alarming, and led to communication with colleagues at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. As it turns out – there is a regulation (6 NYCRR Part 575) that prohibits the possession, transport, importation, sale, purchase, and introduction of kudzu and other prohibited and regulated invasive species in New York (thank goodness!). And while there is a loophole for permits to be issued, these are strictly for “research, education or other approved activities.”

Can I help you to manage the plant, and offer suggestions for what to do in spaces where kudzu has been cleared? You bet! Can I help you to grow the plant for research purposes? Sure. But if your interest in growing kudzu is for non-academic purposes –I can’t help you. Sorry (not sorry).

Matt Frye is our Community IPM Extension Area Educator, housed at 3 West Main Street, Suite 112, Elmsford, NY 10523

Matt provides education and conducts research on pests that occur in and around buildings where people live, work, learn and play. The focus of Matt’s program is to help people prevent issues with pests such as rodents, bed bugs, ticks, cockroaches, and indoor flies; or to provide management recommendations for existing problems.

Tree of heaven. Photo by Chuck Bargeron, University of Georgia, Bugwood.org

Tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima) is just heavenly to a spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula). This invasive planthopper is sadly all but exclusive to that invasive tree, but has been found on stone fruit, blueberries, grapevine, and a smorgasbord of 70+ species as hosts. Its ability to use favorites such as hop vines and black walnut as preferential hosts for its life cycle will continue to be studied.

Perhaps it would be more accurate to call the spotted lanternfly (SLF) by its alternate name, Chinese blistering cicada. Acting to blister, fester, spread out its cute little wings and become personified as new breed of supervillain. Black widow please step away, Hollywood + spotted lanternfly = horror-able. All puns aside, everybody loves facts.

The insect has been found in 2014 in PA (now at infestation levels), DE (2018), NJ (2018), VA (2018), and NY (2018). In New York, only one insect was found at both locations (Albany and Penn Yan). NYS citizens who were knowledgeable in the identification of the insect reported the finding, proving that awareness of this pest will play a crucial role in limiting its spread.

SLF is aesthetically pleasing. Case in point:

Photo by Lawrence Barringer, PA Dept. of Agriculture, Bugwood.org.

Looks aside, its true colors show when its presence leads to crop loss, increased maintenance, and management costs. Don’t forget the reduction of a person’s quality of life and hazardous working conditions.

These insects, with all life stages present, mass on a given plant, sucking sap through their piercing-sucking mouth parts. Unlike the earlier instars, older SLF can pierce through thicker tissue. They do not feed directly on fruit, but may affect fruit quality.

While feeding, spotted lanternflies’ honeydew excrement encourages the growth of sooty mold that builds up on leaves, fruit, and around the bases of trees–especially if infestation levels are high. The presence of a fermenting odor caused by SLF feeding damage, and the sweetness of excreted honeydew also attracts nuisance insects, including wasps and flies. And sooty mold can become slippery. There is great concern about the sheer numbers of insects, because SLF abundance can be problematic for agricultural machinery and harvested products.

Spotted lanternfly lays eggs on virtually any smooth and strong surface, including plant material, stones, bricks, metal, and plastic. Thus, egg masses can be spread easily and unknowingly, and their dispersal can occur through practically any mode of transportation.

One generation occurs per year: adults develop in July, lay eggs from September-November. Overwintering egg masses—each containing 30-50 eggs—are usually covered in a waxy brown substance resembling mud. First instar nymphs emerge between May-June. First three instars are black and white; the fourth acquiring red pigments.

There is no current lure for SLF. Sentinel trees of tree of heaven are used to monitor, trap, and kill insects with systemic insecticides. Wrapping trees trunks with sticky bands, or scraping off egg masses can help. Or simply squish the nymphs and adults.

Anyone that suspects they have found SLF is encouraged to send a photo to spottedlanternfly@dec.ny.gov. Please note the location of where the insect was found, egg masses, and/or infestation signs. Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and Dept. of Ag and Markets (DAM) also encourage the public to inspect outdoor items such as vehicles, furniture, and firewood for egg masses. Anyone that visits the Pennsylvania or New Jersey Quarantine Areas should thoroughly inspect their vehicle, luggage and gear for SLF and egg masses before leaving and scrape off all egg masses.

A Smartphone application is also available to help citizens and conservation professionals quickly and easily report new invasive species sightings directly to New York’s invasive species database from their phones. For more information, visit http://www.nyimapinvasives.org/

Greetings! I’m Jaime Cummings, the new Field Crops and Livestock Coordinator at NYS IPM. My job? To work with field crop and livestock farmers on more than 3 million acres statewide who grow corn, hay, and other field crops and contribute to New York’s livestock industry. These farmers know all too well the problems that come with insect, disease and weed pests—problems that can change year to year.

They need IPM. Which means that each person who lives in New York and eats or drinks anything produced on a farm also needs IPM.

Meet Jaime Cummings. Farmers, you’ll be seeing a lot of her soon.

My background is in plant pathology, and I come from Cornell’s Field Crops Pathology program. While there I focused on field research for dealing with plant diseases and mycotoxins (aka fungal toxins). I also provided diagnostics for statewide disease surveys on all major field crops. Along the way I also earned my Certified Crop Advisor certification (CCA) for the Northeast.

Integrated Pest Management for Field Crops and Livestock

Field crop and livestock farmers in New York face problems both new and old. For starters, unpredictable weather patterns can favor a different spectrum or intensity of disease and pest problems that vary from one year to the next. Meanwhile, invasive pests of all sorts are ever knocking at our borders. It’s critical to know not only how to address each issue, but also know when it’s economically feasible and environmentally responsible to do so. IPM scouting networks and forecasting methods help us better understand pest levels. This in turn helps farmers use well-defined thresholds for making solid management decisions.

And of course, IPM works for organic and conventional farmers alike. They all know there are no silver bullets or one-size-fits-all management strategies when it comes solving disease or pest problems—which is why we need to integrate pest management strategies for the best success. Any approach to managing pests and protecting crops that minimizes health and environmental hazards by the most economical means should be thoughtfully considered and implemented.

The goal? To prevent problems in the first place. True, sometimes nature tosses us a wild card we couldn’t have guessed at. Regardless—IPM helps farmers avoid wasteful treatments while offering other options that are good both for the environment and the farmer’s bottom line.

Looking Forward

Want to learn about IPM options for your farm? Please email me at jc2246@cornell.edu. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the weekly field crops pest report http://blogs.cornell.edu/ipmwpr/ to stay up to date on statewide scouting and management updates.

I look forward to the opportunity to work with you and wish you a safe and productive season.

Drum Roll: The Spotted Lanternfly

Southeastern Pennsylvania, the epicenter of spotted lanternfly’s arrival in 2014, might seem far enough away to give us in New York prep time for dealing with this new pest, a weak flyer that usually hops to get around. But with the spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula—and SLF for short), all bets are off. After all, it took over Korea, whose climate is surprisingly like our own, in no time flat. And now it’s in Maryland. Delaware. Virginia. New Jersey.

New York’s first find happened to be dead. Blind dumb luck.

A bit creepy, how cool it looks. (Photo insectimages)

How anything so pretty could be so nasty boggles the mind. But it’s the nature of nature. Since ID’ing SLF correctly is key to good IPM, let’s start with the nymphs—the young-uns. In this case they come in two snazzy colors. The early-stage nymphs are straight-on black or, once they’ve molted, black and white—handsome devils or trendy fashionistas; take your pick. For late-stage nymphs (late-stage means they molted—again—and outgrew the skin they had after they hatched), add blobs of blood-red, and that critter looks ready to conquer the world.

Which it might.

Does that bright, traffic-light red signal toxicity, as it does for many other potential prey? Right now all I know is that birds have been seen throwing up after grabbing one for a snack—and yes, they are toxic to us.

Red is ever a reminder to other critters: this might be toxic. (Photo Penn State)

Meanwhile, adult SLFs look positively benign. Lovely, in fact. Don’t believe it for a minute. These classy lads and lassies resemble butterflies or moths, but don’t believe that either—they are, you’ll recall, planthoppers; the name refers to its mode of locomotion.

Whatever. Spotted lanternflies have a destiny. Their natural expertise in the pole-vault isn’t their only way to get around. How many roads (think interstates especially) wend their way from southeastern Pennsylvania to points north, south, east and west? Lots.

Consider your car or camper, for starters. Firewood? You’d be slack-jawed at the degree to which firewood fits into the equation. Just the eggs alone—not easy to see with a cursory look—can easily hitch rides to new areas, meaning that New York is a mere hop, skip and a jump away. Trains, tractor trailers, wheel wells, the cargo hold in a jet—this pest doesn’t need to lay its eggs on organic matter. Planning a long-distance road trip? California, here we come.

“I don’t want to scare people,” says Dr. Surendra Dara, an IPM and crop advisor at the University of California, “but it has the potential to spread, and we do not have a biological-control agent.”

Which is why you, dear reader, are our eyes on the ground.

But wait. Other than toxicity, I haven’t even told you why to be alarmed about this critter. Grapes, apples, hops—these and more high-value crops rank in the billions for New York. Apples alone ring the register at about $317 million.

removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, sequestering carbon, and producing oxygen critical for all life on earth;

filtering and buffering clean drinking water for millions of New Yorkers.

As our eyes on the ground, here’s what you need to know. Signs that spotted lanternfly are at our collective doorstep include:

sap oozing or weeping from tiny open wounds on tree trunks;

a yeasty smell (been near a brewery lately? That’s it);

inch-long, brownish-gray egg masses—like waxy mud when new, brown and scaly when old

heaps of honeydew under trees and vines and covered, often as not, with black sooty mold.

When you see this many SPFs in your orchard (this is Pennsylvania, mind you) — watch out. (Photo Smyers, Penn State)

Besides fruit and hops, what’s at risk? Everything from willows to walnuts—and smooth-barked trees especially. But keep in mind that many a mature tree which, once it has packed on the pounds around its waist and takes on a decidedly rough or furrowed look, looks svelte and clean-cut while still relatively young. Go outside and look at any gently-furrowed tree, and chances are you’re looking at a host. For those areas where tree-of-heaven runs rife, well—you’re looking at what might be its most favorite host of all.

Though it’s hard to wrap your mind around, it sups on some—maybe all—field crops. “We’ve seen it in some of the grain crops that are out there, soybean and what have you,” said Fred R. Strathmeyer Jr., Pennsylvania’s deputy secretary of agriculture. “It’s able to feed on many, many different things.”

Now think about honeydew. Not the drink, not the melon; rather the stuff bugs secrete as they feed. A case of in one end, out the other as they move down the chow line. Although native insects also secrete honeydew, the size of the SLF and staggering numbers that congregate from place to place makes for a remarkable amount of honeydew. Parked your car beneath an infested tree? Time to clean off those sticky windshield wipers.

For sure—this sticky mess and the swarms of insects it attracts gets in the way of outdoor fun. In Pennsylvania, where SLF populations are the densest, people near the heart of the problem can’t go outside without getting honeydew on their hair, clothes, and whatever they’re carrying. At which point “outdoor” and “fun” no longer have all that much in common.

So that’s it in a nutshell and, for spotted lanternfly, all the news that’s fit to print. For now.